It’s late at night and your driving home from a long day. The rain is coming down so hard it’s bouncing off the tarmac in front of you. Your face is illuminated by the blueish hue from the dashboard. As you begin to think about the warmth of home, the light in the car suddenly changes from the normal wash of colour, to an orange glow. There’s a faint ping and your eyes are drawn to the instruments in front of you. The engine light has come on; there’s something wrong.

You now have a choice; pull over and sort the issue or push on and ignore the warning light.

I wonder how many of us ignore the warning lights on the dashboard of the car? Low Fuel, empty washer bottle, engine management, even sometimes leaving the handbrake on slightly as you pull away. The manual tells us exactly what the lights mean, and we have the garage just down the road that can sort the issue, yet still we just ignore them; thinking “it’ll be ok. I’m sure there’s time. It’s probably nothing.”

Often when we ignore the issue, there then follows a cascade of other warning lights that ‘ping’ on whilst we’re driving. One leads to another and we are left with a bigger problem. If only we heeded the warning at the start, maybe we wouldn’t have broken down on the side of the road.

The good news is that we have the manual. The guide that tells us what the lights mean, and how we can get it fixed – it’s called the Bible.

Sometimes, we treat ourselves like our cars, ignoring the warning lights that are flashing right in our faces. Tiredness, irritability, frustration – these things point towards an issue that’s under the hood. Low fuel or even the wrong fuel altogether causes us to stutter and splutter along the journey. Those same phrases still playing in your mind; “it’ll be ok. I’m sure there’s time. It’s probably nothing.” But just as with our vehicles, if we ignore the warning lights, we’ll eventually break down.

The good news is that we have the manual. The guide that tells us what the lights mean, and how we can get it fixed – it’s called the Bible. The Word of God, giving us step by step instructions, but even more, we know a great mechanic. The Holy Spirit in us, who works on the inner parts that we just wouldn’t be able to do by just good discipline or ability. But even more, we know the Manufacturer. God the Father – the one who created us; formed us in our mother’s womb and breathed life into our lungs.

If you have been ignoring the warning signs, please get yourself to the garage; check the manual and speak to the mechanic; return to maker and let him reset the trip.

Matthew 11:28-30 says,

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” (MSG)